MIT's 'From 3D printing to the Factory Floor' professional education course returns for fourth year

MIT Professor John Hart

Professor John Hart teaching the students of the 'From 3D Printing to the Factory Floor' course.

“Knowledge is the power to take action,” is the succinct summation of Professor John Hart, an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at MIT, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, when queried on the importance of education to additive manufacturing’s progression.

Forgiven for prejudicing the statement as nothing more than a promotional soundbite, Professor Hart’s view on education’s importance is as every bit organic as his verdict on the limitations of 3D printing that follow. He cites the quality assurance of parts, the post-processing requirements, and finally, expertise as the things holding additive manufacturing back.

That’s not to say the industry is suffering from a lack of expertise, laurels should not be rested on. MIT’s five-day ‘From 3D Printing to the Factory Floor’ professional education course aims to go some way to assuring expertise is prevalent in the industry. And it’s led by Hart, who in June was awarded the prestigious ‘Ruth and Joel Spira Award for Distinguished Teaching’.

Since 2014, it has welcomed engineers of varying levels of familiarity with additive manufacturing, and given them hands-on tutoring, the chance to discuss ideas, and a platform to meet new partners and friends. It’s an all-inclusive course, which this year will welcome between 50-75 participants, that covers the entire workflow from initial concept, to design in CAD, to the printing of a functional part. Hart says the course changes every year, to keep up with the rapid change going on in the industry, and to better prepare the participants as they set out to contribute to the additive manufacturing world.

“[Education] is absolutely essential,” he stresses. “And I base that on my understanding of the capabilities of additive manufacturing. Without the knowledge of the technical capabilities and implications, we can’t fulfil the potential of additive. One of the limitations of additive growing faster is truly education and actionable knowledge. Technology has exciting, powerful people. There’s a lot of room for growth, there’s still a lot of limitation, but there’s a lot of things we can do with additive.

“Not only is our goal to discuss the cutting edge, but map the future, lay our vision and where we think additive manufacturing will be going in two to three years, the very near term, to five, ten years and beyond.”

MIT Prof John Hart

Professor John Hart teaching the pupils of the 'From 3D Printing to the Factory Floor' course.

The course starts with the participants organising themselves according to their entrance interests. It ends with them presenting their findings from a project they have worked on all week to the rest of the class. In between, they will have covered ‘the full spectrum’ of 3D printing. Hart lists: “extrusion; cutting; photopolymerisation; Fused Filament Fabrication; binder jetting; SLA; powder bed; laser fusion, for polymers and for metals.” They will also benefit from, not only the guidance of the people at the front of class, but also those they sit beside in the lecture theatre, since many AM-experienced engineers will be in attendance, looking to learn even more than they already know.

“I try to design the lecture and the discussions to make the knowledge accessible to [everyone], from quickly overviewing the basic principles, to then also present in-depth, advanced concepts. The combination of hands-on labs and lectures addresses the wide-ranging audience because they get to see how 3D printers work, they get to view things themselves, get to make some parts, inspect the parts.

“In a way, the breadth of the course also helps to address that disparity in expertise, so I wouldn’t have necessarily expected this four years ago, but I can confidently say from the participants that feed back, that it really is valuable to both beginners and to experts.”

A course entering its fourth edition, it exists not only to broaden participants’ knowledge on AM, but also to make clearer their personal journey. Many of the course alumni have proceeded to have a successful journey – Hart remains in touch with many of them. Some have taken ‘significant roles’ in additive manufacturing, others have incorporated AM into their already-existing role, and a few have even established their own business. As the next crop get ready to take their place in the MIT campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on July 31st, Hart is hoping, if not expecting, some similar success stories to begin.